It does seem fitting to talk about such a subject, especially with Valentine’s Day having just passed. Most folks probably have never even considered that what they may eat has an impact on themselves, and the relationships around them. But as my own personal experience and reflection has shown in the past few years, they are very much connected.

The man that I am today, and the man that I was five years ago are very much opposite one another. But it took me four of those years to understand how and why I became the way that I did.

For those of us that are O’s, wheat, dairy, pork products, and potatoes are the items that we should stay away from the most. And wouldn’t you know it, those were the things that I thoroughly enjoyed five years ago. How often have we all heard that whole grains and dairy are good for us? Well, for us O’s, who make up almost 45% of the United States population, they’re not.

Five years ago, it was french fries, soda, BLT’s, ham, grilled cheese sandwiches, chocolate milk, and so many other avoids. Ugh. I wish I could go back in time, and slap the crap out of myself, and say, “Bad! Don’t eat!”. But as time has passed, I’ve come to realize that this whole Eat Right 4 Your Type journey is one of my major life lessons in this lifetime.

Back in 2000, I was at the tail-end of a rather unhappy relationship. There were issues on both sides, but I’m only going to deal with mine here. After two years of being in the relationship, I had gained 35 pounds, and I didn’t have the energy or the ambition to get many things done. And it certainly didn’t help that I was pushed away, rather than receiving any type of support from my significant other of the time. I was in a constant mental fog, and always tired. It didn’t matter how many hours I slept, I was always tired. When one is always tired, and in a fog, it’s hard to even attempt some kind of mental focus, in order to work on, or even maintain a relationship.

After we had parted ways, I started to pick up the pieces. Ever the analytical Sagittarian, I was in search of answers, because I didn’t want to have a repeat performance in my next relationship. I knew that my work schedule had been a major factor. I would work 12 hour night shifts for three nights, and sleep during the day. The other four days of the week, I would be up all day, and sleep during the night, so I could be there for the ex-girlfriend’s children, whom I loved, and still do love dearly. Over time, the combination of bad foods, and an erratic sleep schedule completely wreaked havoc with my body, and its metabolism. Bad metabolism, and bad foods, equal a very nasty physical and mental meltdown.

As more time passed, I became familiar with the principles of feng-shui, and another piece of the puzzle fell into place. Feng-shui wise, the house was a disaster. As I started to put the house into order, life started to become better. I was sleeping better. I was more cognizant of what was going on around me in the world. It was like someone slowly removing a blindfold.

But even working something far closer to regular hours, and feng-shui’ing the house, I would often still be tired, and in a mental fog at times. Though not nearly as bad as I had been during my previous relationship. Ambition and energy were at times still fleeting. One day, I might get a lot accomplished, the next day, absolutely nothing.

It wasn’t until I came across Eat Right 4 Your Type last year, that more of the puzzle came together. The more time that I spent avoiding the foods on the ‘avoid’ list, the less tired I became, and the less time that I spent in a mental fog. The less time I spent in a fog, the more opportunities I had to regain control of my life, and to start planning on charting my own destiny in this lifetime.

When it comes right down to it, how can we adequately give of ourselves in a relationship, if we have neither the physical energy, or the mental clarity to do so? By not having one or both, we deny both ourselves, and our partners the opportunity for a happy, and satisfying relationship. While food is but one of the factors that plays a part in our relationships, I believe that it is one of the primary factors.

One of the hardest parts of human nature is to face our own shortcomings as human beings. But it is only by learning from those shortcomings that we in turn become better people. All too often, we judge ourselves far more harshly than those around us, preventing us from learning and growing.

For those of you that have been on ER4YT for awhile, take a few moments to look back in time. What were you like in your relationships pre-ER4YT, and how are things different now that you’re eating according to the principles of ER4YT? For those that might read this that haven’t tried ER4YT, try it for a month or two. See how you feel, both physically and mentally after that time. You have nothing to lose besides possibly a few pounds, but have the opportunity to start on a pathway to both better health, and a better life.

We all have certain life lessons to learn during our time here on this earth? Could this be one of yours?

This entry was posted on February 16th, 2006 at 07:20:00 pm and is filed under Ryan's Earlier Blogs.